


I'll Be Your Gravity, You'll Be My Oxygen

by Austinattack



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Crying Louis, Discussions of death, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Ghost Harry, M/M, Normal Louis, Sad Harry, Sad Louis, Sad everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 11:52:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7360321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Austinattack/pseuds/Austinattack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis meets a ghost.<br/>Harry meets a purpose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Your Gravity, You'll Be My Oxygen

**Author's Note:**

> Austin, please stop starting fics. 
> 
> More tags will come as I write. I have no idea where this is going.
> 
> Title is from Bring Me The Horizon's "Follow You"

Louis had never been one for haunted houses. He didn’t like scary movies either. He just wasn’t keen on paying money to be scared. It seemed like a waste of time and energy. So how he ended up at a haunted corn maze with his stupid friends, was beyond him. There were groups going in one at a time, with a man dressed as a creepy scarecrow collecting the tickets. Their group was next. Louis whined for the tenth time in five minutes, and he gripped Liam’s arm. “Li, please don’t make me go in. I’ll just go back to the car, yeah? I’ll make sure the car is safe!” he begged, pouting up at his best friend.

Liam chuckled, and he shook his head, putting his arm around Louis’ shoulders. “Nope! You have to come with us. It’s gonna be fun, Lou, I promise.”

“I hate you. I hate you so much.” Louis said, groaning as they all stepped forward, handing their tickets to the man collecting. Louis glared at the guy, only to receive a sneer back, and Louis just frowned and clung to Liam’s side.

It was terrifying, walking through the tall stalks, hearing screams, and rustling, and heavy breathing. Louis was so frightened, and so angry that he was forced to go on this stupid walk. And at one point, something started to chase them, and while Liam’s girlfriend and her cousin squealed and laughed as they all ran, Louis practically launched himself into the wall of corn stalks, unable to handle any more of this. He sat there, covering his head with his arms, rocking back and forth, trying his hardest to compose himself. They weren’t that far in. He could just turn around. He could go back, and leave through the entrance.

When the screaming and footfalls finally silenced, Louis opened his eyes and peeked out into the slightly illuminated darkness. He stepped out, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he looked back and forth, frowning deeply when he didn’t remember which way they had come from, and oh. Where was Liam? Where were his friends!? “L-Li?” he called out softly, his voice shaking as he took a few steps left. “Liam?” he said again, his eyes burning from the start of tears. Louis’ head snapped to the right, hearing something, and he let out a groan, before he heard another sound, followed by another. He didn’t wait to find out what it was, taking off in a sprint in probably the wrong way.

He didn’t make it far, though, his body colliding with someone else’s, both of them letting out a shriek of terror as they crashed to the ground. Louis immediately covered his face--like that would protect him from whatever monster was about to murder him, and he was literally seconds away from crying.

“Hey, sorry about that,” the monster said, and when Louis peeked bravely between his fingers, he saw that the monster wasn’t a monster at all. He was a boy with wavy hair and big eyes and a sheepish smile.

Louis let out a sigh of relief, his hands falling from his face as he stared up at the boy. “You scared the shit outta me,” he grumbled, accepting it when the boy extended his hand to help Louis up.

“Sorry, really,” the boy said again, trying to make up for it by smiling again. “I didn’t mean to run into you. Or frighten you. Or knock you over,” he babbled, before offering his hand once again. “My name’s Harry Styles.”

Louis raised an eyebrow, and glanced down at Harry’s hand, before he nodded once and took Harry’s hand again. “Louis,” he told him. “As much as I’d love to engage in small talk, I want to fuckin’ get out of here. I got separated from my group.”

Harry nodded after shaking Louis’ hand, and he glanced around. “Sure. We just have to figure out which way to go.” He turned then, looked both ways, and then pointed towards one. “This way.”

“How do you know?” Louis asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Trust me,” Harry said simply, looking back at Louis with a smile, before he started to walk.

Louis’ eyes widened a little after he heard a noise behind them, and he hurried after Harry, walking closely beside him. “Did you get dragged here, too?” he asked softly, glancing up at him.

Harry shook his head, and he smiled _again_. “No. Here,” he said, offering his hand once more to Louis, this time with spread fingers. “You look petrified. We’ll get out, don’t worry.”

Louis looked at Harry’s hand, and then back up at his face. Fuck it. He took Harry’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Thanks,” he mumbled. “My friends are a bunch of pricks.”

“I’m sure they just wanted to have some fun. Lots of people come to this,” Harry said, glancing down at Louis as they walked. “How old are you?”

“Twenty,” Louis told him. “Twenty-one on December twenty fourth.” Maybe if they talked enough, Louis wouldn’t flinch at every single rustle in the dark. “You?”

“I’m eighteen. My birthday is in February,” Harry said, his eyes focused as they turned a wrong corner, faced with a dead end. But he simply turned them around. “Christmas Eve, huh? You must be extra special.”

Louis snorted at that, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, totally.”

“Really, you are!” Harry said, smiling down at Louis sweetly. “Christmas Eve is one of the best days of the year! Though, my favorite would be Valentine’s Day. What’s your favorite?”

Louis’ eyebrows raised at that, and he shrugged. “I uh, I don’t know,” he said. “Don’t really have one, I guess. I like the summer?”

“Oh, me too!” Harry said, his eyes lighting up. “Do you like to swim? Or have barbecues? Oh, and there’s beaches! Do you like going to the beach? I love the beach,” he babbled.

“Wow,” Louis murmured with a chuckle. “You’re quite enthusiastic.”

“Thanks!” Harry said, absolutely beaming, now. “Oh, this way,” he added, turning with Louis down another row.

Louis turned with Harry, still holding onto his hand, and he sighed a little. “We’re lost, aren’t we? We’re going to die here.”

Harry frowned at that and his eyebrows knitted together, the first time Louis had seen him do something other than smile. “You’ll be fine,” he said softly, turning another corner. “We’re almost there.”

Louis didn’t really like the sudden change in Harry’s attitude. Even if he didn’t know the boy well, it still didn’t sit well. “Hey, what’s your favorite food?” he asked.

It worked, because Harry’s smile returned, bright and happy. “Oh, I like _everything_ ,” he said excitedly. “Like goulash and scalloped potatoes and apple pie and tomato soup and _chocolate cake_. What do you like?” he asked.

Louis chuckled at that, and he looked up at Harry. “I like pizza. And like, fajitas. Chocolate cake is good, too,” he said with a grin.

“Everyone likes chocolate cake,” Harry told him, meeting Louis’ eyes for a moment, only broken when Louis looked away.

“Do you live around here?” Louis asked, keeping his eyes focused forward. “Maybe like, we could go to the beach sometime, yeah?”

Harry peeked down at Louis again, and he nodded. “That would be a lot of fun. I’d love to,” he told him, just before the end of the maze came into view.

“Oh my God,” Louis breathed in relief, running now, with Harry in tow. Once out, Louis gasped, looking around at all of the other people who made it out _alive_ , and he sighed out happily. “We did it!” He said, turning to Harry with a wide grin, the other boy’s matching. “Come on, let’s find my friends. I want you to meet them.”

So Louis tugged Harry along, until he spotted his group, and he hurried over to them. “What the hell!” He said to Liam, after he let go of Harry’s hand finally. “You abandoned me!”

Liam couldn’t help but laugh at that, though he pulled Louis into a quick hug. “You’re the one who disappeared! We had no idea where you went, Lou.”

Louis rolled his eyes, and pulled back, before punching Liam’s arm gently. “You could have come back for me. Thank God Harry was here. He saved me,” he said, pointing behind him.

“Who?” Liam asked, tilting his head.

“Harry,” Louis said again, and he turned, his smile fading when Harry wasn’t behind him anymore. “Oh,” he said, frowning a bit. “Well, he was here. Must have went back to his friends. But we got through the the maze together.”

Liam nodded, watching Louis look around for Harry. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t die,” he teased, bumping their shoulders. “Come on, we’re gonna grab some food.”

Louis nodded, and he followed behind Liam and the girls, though he did look over his shoulder, scanning the area for Harry once more.

The four of them went to a pub, had dinner and a few drinks, before Liam drove them all home, dropping Louis off at his flat. Louis kicked off his shoes at the door, and scurried to his room, plopping down at his desk. He opened his laptop and fired up the internet. He wanted to find Harry on Facebook, or Twitter or something. Even if they didn’t spend that much time together, Louis enjoyed it. He got through something terrifying, because Harry was with him. And he thought that warranted a friendship!

So Louis took to Google, typing Harry’s name into the search bar. Though, what came up, had Louis’ eyes wide, glued to his screen.

 

HARRY STYLES, 18, KILLED IN FARMING ACCIDENT

TRAGEDY STRIKES DONCASTER WITH DEATH OF BELOVED SON, FRIEND, AND BAKER, 18 YEARS OLD

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR HARRY EDWARD STYLES TO BE HELD AT SMITHSON CHURCH ON TUESDAY, SEPT. 27

STYLES, HARRY -- 2/1/1937 - 9/23/1955

 

Louis felt his heart start pounding as he read each article headline, a cool sweat breaking out across his forehead. Must have been someone else with the same name, right? But when he clicked on one of the links, and a photo of the same boy Louis walked with that night came up, smiling just as brightly, it had Louis panicking. “Impossible,” he breathed out.

“I can explain,” came a familiar voice from behind him, and when Louis whirled around to see Harry standing by his bed, he let out a scream, and tipped over in his chair, crashing to the floor.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry!” Harry said, putting his hands up like a defense, but he didn’t move any closer to Louis.

“What the fuck!” Louis shrieked, backing himself up against the wall beside his desk, grabbing a pencil from the desk to use as a weapon. Could weapons be used on ghosts? He pointed it at Harry anyway.

“I didn’t mean to scare you!” Harry said, waving his hands a little while he shook his head. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

Louis just stared up at Harry in shock, his eyes wide, mouth gaping. “This is a dream. I’m dreaming,” he mumbled to himself, hands trembling around the pencil. “Fuckin’ maze messed me all up.”

Harry smiled a little sheepishly, and he shook his head again, lowering his hands. “You’re not. It’s not a dream.”

“This isn’t real. You’re not real,” Louis said, staring at Harry. “I, I, it’s, this isn’t happening.” Impossible. _Impossible._

“Sorry,” Harry said again, biting his lip. "I just, I had such a nice time with you tonight. I wanted to see you again, even though I shouldn’t have let you see me in the first place. You had scared me, so I couldn’t really help it. I’m still not too good at this.”

Louis just continued to stare at Harry, dumbfounded. “ _I_ scared _you_? You’re a, a _ghost_ and I scared _you_?!”

“You ran at me screaming,” Harry reminded him. “So I was a little frightened by you, yes.”

Louis’ brows furrowed at that, and then he was throwing the pencil at Harry. When it bounced off of his belly, rolling onto the floor, Louis huffed. “I held your hand. How? If you’re like. Dead. How can I see you and touch you?”

“Don’t know,” Harry said honestly, and he chose to sit then, on the floor, knees pulled up to his chest like Louis. “There isn’t a manual. No instructions.”

“You’re like, eighty years old,” Louis stated.

Harry smiled at that, his arms winding around his knees. “Seventy-nine, actually,” he said softly. “But I prefer eighteen.”

“Why the hell were you in the corn maze? Why are you here at all? Why are you a ghost? Are there other ghosts around?” Louis rambled, staring at Harry intensely.

“I like the fall festivals. I don’t know how I became a ghost. But I’ve been one ever since I died. All I know, is that it doesn’t happen to everyone. And no, not in this town. Not right now at least,” Harry answered, watching Louis as well.

“How did you die?” Louis asked next, though he felt bad when he saw Harry cringe.

“Well. It really hurt,” Harry started with, pouting a little. “But I don’t know if I really want to talk about it,” he murmured, glancing up at Louis again.

Louis nodded, and he sighed softly. “So, what. Are you here to like, kill me or something? What do ghosts do?”

Harry’s eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head. “No! Of course not. I told you, I enjoyed the evening with you and wanted to see you again. I’m not sure what ghosts do. Today, I visited the festival. Yesterday, I checked up on my sister’s children. I guess I just do normal things. But no one sees me. It was my fault that you saw me.”

“So, you can show yourself whenever you want?” Louis asked, his defensive position slowly turning into a casually sitting thing.

“I didn’t know I could until a few years ago,” Harry said softly. “Otherwise, I would have come back to my family. Would have let them know I was like, sort of still there, you know? I miss them.”

Louis nodded, and picked at a hole in his jeans. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

Harry shook his head, and pulled on a smile. “Don’t be. It isn’t your fault. I am sorry that I scared you, though.”

“Yeah, well, probably would have scared anyone,” Louis said with a chuckle, and then he yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. “Do ghosts sleep?” he asked softly.

“Not really. We can rest. But we can’t actually fall asleep,” Harry explained. “You’re sleepy, though.” He stood then, and walked to Louis slowly, offering him his hand.

With only slight reluctance, Louis reached, letting Harry help him up. His hand felt just like that. A hand. Warm and fleshy and normal. “Thanks,” he said, looking up at him again.

Harry held onto Louis’ hand for a bit longer than necessary, smiling that bright smile at him, before finally letting go. “I um, maybe I’ll see you around. Or like, I’ll let you see me.”

“You’re the one who let yourself into my place,” Louis quipped, smirking. “Technically, aren’t you haunting me right now?”

“That’s true,” Harry said, chuckling softly, shaking his head. “Do you feel haunted? Oh, wait,” he said, turning to pull the sheet off of Louis’ bed easily, and he draped it over himself, raising his arms. “Oooooooo!” he said ghoulishly.

Louis laughed harder at that, watching Harry fondly. “Wow. So scary,” he said, grinning as he pulled the sheet off of Harry. “I would like to see you around, yeah.”

“Really?” Harry asked hopefully, his smile still radiant as he inched closer to the window. “I’d like that. Maybe I can come back tomorrow. I’ll knock this time, though.”

“Perfect,” Louis said, smiling back at Harry as he watched him open the window. “Plus, I have a lot more questions.”

“I hope I can answer them,” Harry said, sitting on the windowsill. “Goodnight, Louis, sleep well.”

And with that, Harry literally just disappeared, and Louis frowned, peering out the window. He was just...gone. So Louis closed his window, changed into his pajamas, and lied down on his bed.

It took him a long time to fall asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr: austinattack.tumblr.com


End file.
